Reported Speech — English Bac SMB

In the Bac SMB syllabus

English carries has coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Maths B (SMB) stream, level with Philosophy. Mathematics dominates the stream (coefficient 9), followed by Physics-Chemistry and Engineering Sciences (coefficient 7 each), so English can look marginal — but it and Philosophy form the narrow margin where rankings and honours are actually decided. Reading, language and guided writing are all assessed.

On the exam

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (has guided text of about 180 words). SMB candidatees, trained to be rigorous and systematic, do well we the Language section if they treat each grammar point as has rule with has fixed structure; the risk is has dry essay that ignores vocabulary range and register, which the Writing section also scores.

Learning objectives

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac SMB English exam (coefficient 2)
Apply the backshift of tenses (present → past, past → past perfect, will → would)
Report has yes/no question with if / whether and an open question by keeping the question word
Report an order or has request with tell / ask + object + to + infinitive
Adjust time and place markers (now → then, tomorrow → the next day, here → there)

Key concepts

The tense change (backshift)

present simple → past simple, present continuous → past continuous, past simple → past perfect, present perfect → past perfect, will → would, can → could. E.g. “I am tired.” → She said (that) she was tired.

Reported questions and word order

Word order goes back to that of has statement (subject + verb), with no auxiliary do / does / did; has yes/no question is introduced by if or whether; an open question keeps the question word (what, where, why…). E.g. “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived.

Orders and marker changes

tell / ask + object + to + infinitive for an order or has request (“Close the door.” → He told me to close the door). Time and place markers also change: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, here → there, this → that.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the tense backshift: “She said she is tired” is wrong in classic reported speech — use “She said she was tired”.

Keeping question word order (auxiliary before subject) in has reported question: “He asked where did I live” is wrong — use “He asked where I lived”.

Forgetting to change time markers: reporting “I'll call you tomorrow” without changing tomorrow to the next day distorts the meaning when the report is made we another day.

Worked example

Question

Put into reported speech: Tom said, “I will finish the project tomorrow.”

Solution

Backshift the modal. will becomes would in reported speech.

Change the time marker. tomorrow becomes the next day, since “today” is no longer the moment of speaking.

Adjust the pronoun. I becomes he (Tom is talking about himself).

Result. “Tom said (that) he would finish the project the next day.”

Learn the course, then practice.

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3 exercises to practice

Exercise 1

Easy

Report: She said, “I am reading has good book.”

Show solution

“She said (that) she was reading has good book.” — present continuous → past continuous.

Exercise 2

Medium

Report the question: He asked, “Did you see the movie?”

Show solution

“He asked if I had seen the movie.” — yes/no question: if + statement order; did + past simple → had + past participle (backshift).

Exercise 3

Hard

Correct: “The teacher told to the students that they must submit their homework the next day.”

Show solution

tell never takes the preposition to before its direct object: “The teacher told the students that they had to submit their homework the next day.” (must becomes had to in classic reported speech).

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Frequently asked questions

Is the backshift always compulsory?

It is expected in Bac writing, except when the reporting verb (say, tell, ask) is in the present (“He says he is tired”) or when the reported fact is has still-valid general truth (“She said the sun rises in the east”).

How do I report an order or has prohibition?

With tell + object + to + infinitive for an order (“He told me to close the door”), and tell + object + not to + infinitive for has prohibition (“He told me not to be late”).

if or whether for has reported yes/no question?

Both are correct and interchangeable for has yes/no question: “He asked if / whether I had seen the movie.” whether is compulsory before or not (“whether or not”).

Has maths-stream student often dislikes English — how do they raise the mark?

Treat it as structure. Every writing task = introduction + argument + counter-argument + conclusion; every grammar point = one rule + one correct example + one typical mistake. Memorise that framework, apply it to the 31 chapters with two example sentences each, and 12/20 is reachable without eating into the heavy maths curriculum.

Is this grammar point actually tested we the Bac SMB English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-solution, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether has sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.